Contracting

A contract is an agreement between two or more parties to provide, or not provide, goods or services. A contract is required for any service that is initiated between SOU and a third party. **All contracts must be signed by the appropriate contract authority before services begin.**

Types of Contracts

A Personal/Professional Services Contract (PSC) is a specialized type of contract which is used to acquire skills, knowledge, and professional expertise not available at the University.

A PSC may be considered when one or more of the following situations exist:

The specialized skills, knowledge, and resources to be provided by an independent contractor are not available with the University.

The work cannot be done in a reasonable time with the institution's own work force.

An independent, impartion evaluation of a situation is required by a consultant with recognized professional expertise and stature in a field.

A grant requires work to be done under a subcontract.

SOU employs two types of PSC's for use: Short Form for under $25,000 and Long Form for $25,000 and over.

For questions, contact your Service Center Support Specialist.

Irregular Employment Agreements (IEA)

An Irregular Employment Agreement (IEA) is an contract the temporarily (under 90 calendar days) hires an individual as an employee of the University to complete the tasks outlined in the contract. The IEA may be used for individuals from outside the University who are not classified as independent contractors or for current faculty or unclassified (for classified staff contact the Human Resources Office) where the services provided are outside of the current scope of duty.

For questions, contact the Service Center Personnel Support Coordinator.

Other Contracts

Other types of contracts include:

Service Contracts resulting from Intent to Bid (ITB) or Request for Proposal (RFP).

Required Documents

In addition to the contract, depending on the nature of the contract, there may be some additional required documents. Here are a few that may be required:

Background Checks (PSC and IEA)

Background checks may be required by either an independent contractor, employee, or volunteer depending on certain circumstances. You may review criteria in the SOU Background Check Policy. If required, you may find the Consent for Background Check Form on the Human Resources Forms webpage under Recruitment. Background checks must be completed prior to any services being provided and there is additional cost to the department (typically $22 and up per check).

Certificates of Insurance (PSC):

Independent contractors and businesses doing business with Southern Oregon Univesity may be asked to provide a Certificate of Insurance (COI) naming Southern Oregon University, a university with a governing board, as additionally insured and showing appropriate levels of insurance coverage. Insurance requirements may vary dependent on project but is listed in the Services Contract Standard Contract Provisions as being:

commercial general liability insurance with a minimum limit of $2,000,000 per occurrence

auto liability insurance with a minimum limit of $2,000,000 per occurence, and...

annual aggregate limit of $3,000,000

For independent contractors required to provide a COI but do not carry such insurance, here are some resources they may contact for special event insurance coverage:

If a vendor is not in Banner, we will require a W-9. We may also request a new W-9 if the current W-9 does not list a valid email address (used for DocuSign).

Employee Paperwork (IEA)

If the individual is being hired through an IEA, they may need to complete employment paperwork prior to working. Check with the Service Center Personnel Support Coordinator to see if this is required. Employment paperwork can be found on the Human Resources New Employees webpage.

Contract Requests

The Service Center will assist departments with processing PSCs and IEAs (for other types of contracts, contact your Support Specialist or Contracts Office for assistance).

Requests: where the requests initially arrive and are processed by the Service Center

Staff Person: Contracts that are assigned to specific Service Center staff person but are in progress.

Completed: Once the contract is sent for signatures in DocuSign it will move to the appropriate Completed tab.

IEA Mass Entry Spreadsheet: If a department has multiple IEAs with the same job description, pay rates, etc, contact the Personnel Support Coordinator and they will share this mass entry sheet to submit requests.

Additional documents for payees on either the PSC or IEA may be required. If required, contracts will be considered complete once all documents are completed and received. See Required Documents for more information.